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Earlier this year I was digging through some old documents concerning the work that was done in Lawford Church a few years ago, and came across a folder that contained two pieces of A4 that reported on the discussion about the removal of the pews.

When it was decided that the ageing heating system was going to be replaced, and new underfloor heating installed, the pews had to be taken out to lay the tiled floor. That having been decided, the ongoing discussion was on what kind of seating would be put back in again. Some favoured returning the original pews. Others some kind of chairs. A third suggestion was to put the old pews back, but put them on wheels to make them movable. read more

The 1970s science fiction film Logan’s run depicts a dystopian future society in which population and the consumption of resources are managed and maintained in equilibrium by killing everyone who reaches the age of thirty, under the guise of ‘renewal’. The story follows the actions of Logan as he tries to escape to a place called sanctuary.

In the film, ‘Sanctuary’ is a safe space, where everyone can live out their days in peace, without the threat of an early death. The reality for Logan turns out to be somewhat different as the one he had imagined. read more

If you’ve ever followed a set of instructions for putting together a wardrobe from a well known Swedish furniture store, you’ll know that there is only the one successful way of doing it. The same can be said for driving directions. Follow the road for two miles and then turn right, and you’ll end up in a completely different place than if you turn right and then follow the road for two miles.

With cooking, sometimes you can afford to be a bit more haphazard. If you’re looking for the perfect sponge cake, then the recipe that gives the right ingredients at the right time will produce a masterpiece. Looking for a tasty casserole though, and you can just go ahead and throw everything in and not worry about it. A long slow cook will forgive a lack of attention at the beginning – the recipe is for guidance only.read more

What exactly is the sound of summer? The changing seasons have long been part of the diet of musicians and songwriters – summer especially so. In 1990 the Beach Boys released a classic collection titled ‘Summer Dreams’ and just last month the ‘Now’ series of Albums produced a sixty-three track compilation ‘Now That’s What I Call Summer’. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince sang and rapped about ‘Summertime’, Michael Jackson told us to say ‘Farewell my Summer Love, and John Travolta & Olivia Newton John extolled the virtue of Summer Nights.read more

I spent a bit of time in the Royal Albert Hall a few weeks back in the company of several thousand others as part of The Leadership Conference run by Holy Trinity Brompton. Over the course of two days we enjoyed some brilliant sung worship – which rather inexplicably and greedily involved six guitarists at one stage – several excellent keynote speakers as well as a couple of inspirational seminars.

The person whose words had the biggest impact on me was Kay Warren. Kay and her husband Rick are the founders of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. The church has a weekly attendance of more than 20,000 people. In a country where go big or go home seems to be a motto to live by, the book The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren stands out having sold more than thirty million copies in the five years following its publication in 2002.read more

My favourite recent one was someone ringing to complain about the lack of Closed Circuit Television in the churchyard. This caught me a bit on the hop, and I ended up stuttering my apologies about the oversight and asked why he thought we might need it. He went on to say that he knew the police had been called to the churchyard several times recently and surely we should be taking security more seriously. It took a good few minutes before everything became clear – he’d rung the wrong church, and wanted an entirely different vicar in another parish some 200 miles from here.read more

Having spent most of Saturday afternoon taking our lives in our hands scaling ladders up the side of a tree that’s more than 20 feet tall, the decorating is now all done, and the Christmas tree is looking fantastic! Thanks to everyone who came, climbed, decorated, ate pizza and generally had a great time.

The decorations are done. The tree is up and sparkling. Cards sit on every available surface. The presents are wrapped and Santa’s special gifts are hidden at the back of the wardrobe. The only thing left to prepare is lunch.
Alongside the Turkey and stuffing (or nut roast if you must), there are Brussels sprouts, carrots & roast parsnips. And of course roast potatoes. But have you cooked them the right way? If you’re a fan of Jamie Oliver you’ll have gone with olive oil. If Mary Berry is more your thing than it just has to be Goose fat. But if Heston Blumentahl is your celebrity chef of choice, you’ll most definitely have plumped for beef dripping. Or so the Times claimed in a recent article. read more

After a goodly amount of time on standby, the Lawford Church website returns having been renewed and refreshed and is now ready to face the bright light of day. Hopefully you should find all the information you might want from this site, however if you’d like to find out further information about anything published here, please feel free to contact us by using this page.